The purpose of the General Scientific Core is to assist investigators in animal surgery, immunocytochemistry, transmission electron microscopy, and image analysis requirements for the Program Project faculty. The Core also assists investigators in various biochemical analyses, as well as molecular biological approaches. The Core facilities consists of personnel and equipment needed to perform the proposed studies. This Core will conduct general animal preparation, including anesthesia, tracheotomy, catheterization, temperature monitoring, and regulation of physiological variables. The Core will assist investigators in preparing the animals for traumatic brain injury, as described in the individual projects. In addition, expertise is available to modify experimental preparations that may be required for future investigations. Core personnel will carry out immunocytochemical procedures, as well as develop new procedures for the visualization of additional antibodies. The Core will process tissues for plastic embedding for both light and electron microscopic analysis. High quality thin sections will be produced by personnel within the Core and stained for ultrastructural analysis. Established image analysis procedures will be utilized to quantitate the frequency of immunoreactive cells, as well as to determine contusion areas and volume. Finally, the Core will assist investigators in darkroom procedures and the generation of photographic slides and prints.